Press Release

IIE Hosts University Leaders from Germany for Weeklong Tour of U.S. Higher Education

Pictured below: Louisiana Technical College Fulbright Scholars with German Delegation

May 3, 2010—During the first week of May, the Institute of International Education's new Center for International Partnerships in Higher Education will host a delegation of German higher education leaders for a five-day study tour in Louisiana, organized on behalf of the German-American Fulbright Commission. The program will focus on the management and governance structures at higher education institutions in the United States, and will consist of workshops and site visits to public and private universities in New Orleans and Baton Rouge.

The goal of the study visit is to introduce administrators from German Universities of Applied Science to the diverse structure of the U.S. college and university system. The seminar will focus on comparing U.S. and German university systems and identifying possible applications of the American practice to the German system. In view of significant university reforms taking place in Germany, the working group will examine which institutional types and university systems shape the U.S. higher education landscape. With their U.S colleagues, the German experts will also explore how U.S. universities set their programs apart from other competitors and which strategies they choose to strengthen the university’s brand position and reputation. Study tour participants will explore issues related to management and governance, marketing and competition, financing, decision-making, and quality assurance in U.S. higher education.

During the week, the German delegation will visit a range of institutions that represent the diversity of U.S. higher education and meet with officials from the University of New Orleans, Tulane University, Loyola University, Louisiana State University, Louisiana Technical College, University of Louisiana System, and Delgado Community College. The delegation will also meet with representatives of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

Leaders of the German-American Fulbright Commission will accompany senior representatives from University of Applied Sciences, Schmalkalden; Cologne University of Applied Sciences; Georg Simon Ohm University of Applied Sciences, Nuremberg; University of Applied Sciences, Kiel; Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences; the Jade University of Applied Sciences; Munich University of Applied Sciences; University of Applied Sciences, Konstanz; University of Applied Sciences, Nordhausen; and University of Applied Sciences, Bingen.